#70 - A Father-Son Camping Trip
Just Guys Camping; Sharing is Caring; Time Machine
Hello, my friends,
I took a couple of days off from work recently and went to the Getty Museum and camping (read below). I’m grateful that Ashley reminds me to take days off every so often since I’m not very good at remembering to do that. Happy summer to everyone in the northern hemisphere. The bugs are all around, stone fruit have appeared in the markets (early??), and the weather is growing ever warmer. I continue to train for the 5K I’m running at the end of July and my times are steadily improving. If you read this right when it’s sent (around 6am on Friday), I’ll be heading out the door to do the 3-mile loop at the Rose Bowl. Since I’ve already reached my original goal of running 5k in 30-35 minutes, I’ve adjusted my aim to 28 minutes or less. I’ll soon see what my new baseline is.
The thing about running is that while I don’t find it very interesting, it’s satisfying in a few ways: 1) It’s simple: Get some clothes on, step outside, and go, 2) Pushing oneself is straightforward and gains are clear (just look at the stopwatch!), 3) It’s exercise and I need exercise. Nevertheless I’m already bored with running and am looking for the next thing. What will it be? Burpees! It’s an effective exercise and has the same appeals as running. Naturally, everyone hates burpees. I hate burpees. So I’m going to work on doing 100 straight. First priority, though, getting that 5k in 28 minutes.
Just Guys Camping
Michael and I went for our first father-son camping trip on Father’s Day weekend and it was just right! I managed to make a last-minute reservation at a small campground on the outskirts of the Angeles National Forest (Lake Campground, if you’re interested), around 1.5 hours from our home. The drive was a mix of windy mountain road, desert, and forest; most people don’t realize that having nature so close is one of the benefits of living in the greater Los Angeles area! On the way, I saw a roadrunner crossing the highway, but no coyote in sight. We arrived at the campsite with plenty of daylight and with Michael’s assistance, the tent went up in minutes. Michael enjoyed hammering in the stakes, though he wasn’t yet very effective at it. Then, we went to explore the nearby lake.
Jackson Lake can hardly be called a lake, it’s more like a large pond; it takes no more than 15 minutes to traverse its length and one can probably jog around it in 20 minutes or less. Still, there were people fishing, kids wading around in the shallows, families picnicking at the nearby tables. We took it all in and then crossed the street to a larger campground where the camp host (there was one for both camps) sold us some firewood. When we returned to our campsite it was time for dinner and we were properly hungry.
I set up our gear while Michael played in our medium-sized plot. Dinner was simple: Instant ramen, tuna filets, and pasta. When I opened my cooler to grab a beer to drink while making dinner I realized that I had left it at the store! Too bad. I ended up drinking our flavored bubbly water (Michael chose strawberry Waterloo, I neither recommend it nor the opposite as it is very unremarkable). It was nice to eat outdoors, though based on the fact that our endless conversation kept returning to the topic, Michael had some concerns about bears. Spoiler alert: We encountered no bears.
Amidst preparing dinner I also got the fire going, because one of the joys of camping is sitting around with a full stomach staring at a fire. Quiet was not to be had this evening, though, because one of us had a lot to say for hours and not just about bears. There was an interlude when I brought out a fat volume of stories by Hans Christian Anderson. As the sky darkened, Michael put his chair next to mine and listened closely as I read him “The Princess and the Pea” and “The Naughty Boy”. A couple of other cars pulled into the campground while we watched the fire. Every 10-15 minutes starting around around 8:15p, Michael would ask if I was tired. Until around 10p, I was not.
Yet, when the time came, we crawled into our tent and fell asleep with no issue. I let Michael use my sleep pad because I thought the multiple blankets I packed would be enough to cushion the hard ground. As I woke up throughout the night, my hips kept reminding me of how wrong I was. Before our next trip, I need to purchase another sleeping pad! Did you know that out in nature, the birds start their chatter at like 4:30a? This close to the summer, they do! Despite my waking, Michael slept soundly throughout the night. We woke up at around 7:30a and Michael wanted to play a matching memory game he brought along. It was a very pleasant way to start the day.
Breakfast was pancakes, eggs, tangerines, and (decaf) coffee. Another joy of camping is a crisp morning with a warm drink. Our morning repast complete, we packed some items up and went for another walk to the lake. We were going to hike a nearby trail we’d spotted the day before, but never made it. Instead, we moseyed around the lake until we got to the spot where yesterday Michael had spotted a dead fish. Not far from there was another father and son fishing. We hailed and began chatting with Alex and young Levi. I sure hope that after his long-time fiance is a little bit past grieving her mother’s recent death, they set a wedding date. He said he’s thinking to bring it up in September. Time will tell!
Soon, a local camp group brought their canoes up to the lake and it was time for us to go. We got back to our site, packed up the tent, and the car, and headed out saying good bye to the campsite, our campground neighbors, the small gray squirrels, the bears, and the lake. We were on our way to have lunch at the nearby town of Wrightwood. There was brewery/restaurant there I wanted to try. When we got there, Michael was excited to try the arcades — while waiting for our sandwiches, he grabbed some candy in the claw game and had his first taste of pinball. Not bad!
My Imperial Stout was fine and the sandwiches weren’t bad. I had really wanted to try their Brown Ale, but the Wrightwood Brew Co. was out. Where did we go to next, you wonder? Does it surprise you that we visited the Wrightwood Library? It shouldn’t! The standalone building is one of 32 library locations in San Bernardino County. The inside is nicely decorated, well-lit, and contains a small but cared-for collection for all ages. There’s also a nice bookstore operated by the Friends of the Library. While Michael colored, I browsed the books for sale. Imagine how neat it felt when I saw an anthology containing a couple of my haiku right there on the shelf! scent of rain was the 2011 anthology of the Southern California Haiku Study group, and here are my poems:
Of course, I signed up for a library card and chatted with the friendly staff. One of the workers lives two blocks from the library. What a fantastic commute! After the library, we walked down the street to the Hollis B. Stewart Children’s park, a little parklet near the elementary school we’d spotted when driving into town. While not huge, the play equipment was excellent! Michael’s favorite was the large ball with ropes inside woven like a spider web. Of course, he climbed to the very top.
After the park, it was time to go. Michael fell asleep pretty soon after we took off and I enjoyed driving on Pearblossom Highway (just as it is portrayed in David Hockney’s photocollage). Later, I sped through the mountain roads listening to the deluxe version of Rakim’s 1997 album “The 18th Letter/The Book of Life”. Swerving down mountains roads listening to the ultimate braggadocio rap song, “Follow the Leader” was a nice memory as was coming back to town after the first of many camping trips to follow.
Sharing is Caring
Since you must be done with your morning coffee after all that camping talk, I’ll just share a beautiful post from one of the newsletters I read most regularly:
This post reminded me of some nice moments in my life and I hope we can all take it as inspiration to make others feel welcome in the world.
Time Machine
Here’s what I wrote in HMF a year ago (in issue #17):
27 Baboons: The tracklist of a mix CD I made for Ashley in 2009, two years after we began dating.
Nerd Stuff: A short appreciation of tabletop RPG games.
Fathers Day Photos: Just selfies of the kids and I on the occasion of Fathers Day 2023.
super sweet - glad you had a good time together. I've recently taken up zumba, which is fun, & jump rope, which is fun and gets more of a workout in far less time than running
Thanks for the David Hockney reference! He appears in my Beatles research a fair amount.
Food always tastes better outside and cooked over a campfire. (And also for some reason on a stick.)
Sleep is always better outside, too.
Wrightwood is such a cool little town. I really wanted to spend more time -- and perhaps buy a little cabin and move up into -- the mountains north of LA, but somehow life didn't turn out that way.
Why did you get a library card for a town you don't live in? Inquiring minds want to know.